Apparatus for manufacturing artificial sponges



Dec. 13, 1932. L, C, ABRAHAM 1,890,555

APPARATUS FR MANUFACTURING ,ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8.1930 .3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 13, 1932. c. ABRAHAM APPARATUS FORMANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8, 1930 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 13, 1932. l L. c, ABRAHAM j 1,890,555

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SPONGES Original Filed Oct. 8.1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 .277 renfe/4.'

Patented Dec. i3, i932 wat l LEWIS CROWFORD ABRAHAM, F AUDERGHEM,BELGIUM APPARATUS FOR MAN'UFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SFNGES @riginalapplication filed Uetober 8, 1939, Serial No. 487,352, and in BelgiumOctober 14, 1929. Divided and this application led June 16, 1931. SerialNo. 544,919.

l My present invention relates to articial Sponges for cleaningkitchen-utensils and other similar p urposes, according to my copendingapplication Serial No. 487,352 of which this application is a division.

According to this co-pending application, said Sponges are made of awire gauze bag containing suitable filling material, the

mouth of which is contracted and closed by lomeans of an outer metal caphaving its rim provided with teeth bent inwardly through the meshes ofsaid wire gauze.

Now my present invention has for its object an apparatus for closing themouth of such bags by means of this toothed cap, said apparatus beingthus adapted to contract the mouth of the bag, in the shape of a collar,to ht a cap upon said collar and to bend the teeth of the cap inwardlythrough the meshes of the wire` gauze bag.

1n the accompanying drawings l:

Figs. 1 to 3 are diagrammatical views of dierent steps of the sponge bagclosing operation.

Fig; 4 shows thenished sponge with its closing cap.

'Fig 4a shows a closing cap provided with a handle.

Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of a device for making the closureaccording to my invention.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section on line A--B of Fig. 5, showingthe parts for drawing the mouth rims of the bag together in twodifferent positions on either side of the line C-D. y

Figs. 7 and 8 are a bottom plan view and side elevation respectively ofone of the parts for drawing the rims of the mouth together. The firststep consists in drawing the rims of the opening 1 of the sponge shapedwire gauze 2 close together. The metal sponge is formed of a bag-likestructure 2 of metal gauze closed at one end 3 and open at the oppositeend and containing a'suitable filling material. l From Figs. 1 and 2 itwill be seen how the rims of the opening 1 of said bag may be contractedby means of fingers 4 to form a collar 5.

In the second step a cap 6 provided with a crown of teeth 7 will beplaced upon the collar 5. The teeth 7 will be bent inwardly to cause thesame to engage the collar 5 as shown in Fig. 3. To this end 1 use-aplunger 8 which 1n its upward movement will press the cap 6 against theends oi' the fingers 4 moved close together, whereby the teeth 7engaging the curved faces 9 on the fingers 4 will be bent in- Wardly atright angles to the ring of the cap.

After the cap has been 4applied as described, the bagu material lillsout or spreads so that only the rounded part of the cap is visible, asshown more particularly in Figure 4. This rounded part ofthe cap mayprovide a convenient surface for a trade-mark or advertisement and formsin edect an ornamental linish to the article.

The cap 6 may also be provided, with a handle 6a as shown in Fig. 4a,enabling the sponge to be easily grasped. Said handle 6a may be attachedto the cap 6 in any desired way.

The device serving to carry out these steps comprises a frame 10, onwhich a circular plate 11 having an upstanding rim or flange 12 and acentral projection 13 is arranged. The iiange 12 supports a stationarycircular plate 14, the underside of which has a series of radial grooves15 ,in which fingers 4 and pushers 16 are alternately arranged, (seeFig. 6), which are distinguished over each other in that the fingers 4are provided with bevelled hooked ends 17, whilst the -pushers 16 havenot such hooks and are a little shorter than the fingers 4. Each fingerand each pusher has its underside provided with a pin 18 engaging one ofthe oblique curved grooves 19 in a cam disc 20 arranged between 4thestationary plate 14 and the plate 11.

Said cam-disc is adapted to be rotated around the central projection orboss 13 on the plate 11 by means of a handle 21. The pins 18 of a finger4 and an adjacent pusher 16 engage the same groove 19.

Secured centrally to the plate 11 below the boss 13 is a sleeve 22,which together with a. sleeve, 23 ysecured to the frame 10 servest'oVguide the plungeryS in the axis of the boss 13 through a central hole24 in the latter. A lever 25 having a treadle 26 at its lower end,

pivoted at 27 on the frame 10 and provided with an eccentric slot 28engaged by a pin 29 on the plunger 8, serves' to move the latterupwardly upon depressing the treadle 26. The treadle lever 25-26 will bemoved back to its inoperative position by the action of a spring 30.

Normally the fingers 4 and pushers l6are in the retracted positionsshown on the right hand half of Fig. 6. Upon rotating the camdisc 20 bymeans of the handle 21 the oblique curved grooves 19 will act on thepins 18 and cause the fingers 4 and pushers 16 to move towards thecentre of the boss 13 as shown on the left hand half ofi Fig. 6.

Inv order to close a metallic sponge by means of the apparatus abovedescribed, the blank sponge 2 will be pla-ced at the centre of the boss13, the mouth 1 thereof turned downwardly (Fig. l), whereupon thecam-disc 20 will be rotated to move the fingers 4 towards each other,whereby the hooked ends of said fingers will engage the meshes of themetal gauze, whilst the pushers 16 will cooperate with said fingers tocontract the mouth 1 of the biank and form a collar 5 thereon. Now thetreadle 26 will be depressed to move the plunger 8 upwardly, a cap 6havingbeen placed previously through the opening 31 in the sleeve 22upon said plunger, 8. Thus said cap 6 will be fitted upon the collar 5and the teeth 7 thereon will be bent inwardly against the curved faces 9on the fingers 4 as already described whereby the collar5 will befirmly.

held in said cap.

VHaving now fully described my said invention, what I' claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus for closing the mouth of a wire gauze bag filled withany desired material by means of a metal cap, the combination of aframe, a stationary horizontal plate on said frame, radial grooves insaid plate, fingers having bevelled hooks at one end and pushers guidedin said radial grooves, means for` moving said fingers andpushers insaid grooves, towards the centre of said stationary plate, for thepurpose of contracting the mouth of a wireV gauze bag placed at thecentre of said stationary plate, a vertical plunger arranged centrallyto said plate and adapted to receive a metal cap with a toothed pin onits upper end, means for moving said plunger upwardly whereby said capwill-be fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag and theteeth thereof bent inwardly against the heads ofsaid fingers Y andpushers, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for closing the mouth of a wire gauze bag filled withany desired material for cleaning purposes by means of 11. metal cahaving a toothed rim, the comnamed plate, radial grooves in the 'lowerface of said second plate, fingers having bevelled hooks at one end andpushers guided in said radial grooves, a central boss on the lowerplate, a cam-disc arranged on said lower plate and adapted to be rotatedaround the central boss on said lower plate, curved grooves in saidcam-disc, depending pins on said fingers and pushers enaging said curvedgrooves in said ca1n-disc,\vhereby said fingers and pushers will beshifted radially towards the centre of the cam-disc upon the rotation ofthe latter, means for rotating said cam-disc, for the purpose ofcontracting the mouth of the bag placed at the centre by the action ofsaid fingers and pushers, a vertical plunger arranged`centrally to saidplate and cam-disc and adapted to receive a metal closing cap on itsupper end, means for moving said plunger upwardly, whereby said cap willbe fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag and the teeththereof bent inwardly against the heads of said fingers and pushers,substantially as set forth.

3.V In an apparatus for closing the mouth of awire gauze bag filled withany desired material for cleaning purposes by means of a metal caphaving a toothed rim, the combi-- nation of a frame, a lower horizontalplate on said frame, an upper horizontal plate spaced some distanceapart from the first named plate, radial grooves in the under face ofsaid second plate, long fingers and short pushers arranged'alternatelyin said successive radial grooves for sliding movements therein,'bevelled hooked ends with curved under faces on said fingers, a centralboss on the lower plate, a cam-disc arranged on said lower plate andadapted to be rotated around the central boss thereon, curved grooves insaid cam-disc depending pins on said fingers and pushers, the pinsionone finger and the advj acent pusher engaging the same curved groove insaid cam-disc, whereby said fingers and pushers will be shifted radiallyupon the rotation of said cam-disc, means for rotating said cam-disc,for the purpose-of contracting the mouth of the bag placed at the centreby the action of said fingers and pushers, a vertical plunger arrangedcentrally to said plates and cam-disc and adapted to receiveametalclocap on its upper end, means for moving ali plunger upwardly whereby saidcap will be fitted upon the contracted mouth of the wire gauze bag andtheteeth thereon bent inwardly against the curved undersides of saidfingers,l substantially as set forth.

Dated this 1st day of June 1931. t

LEWIS CROWFORD ABRAHAM.

bination o a frame, a lower horizontal plate Y on said frame, an upperhorizontal plate spaced some distance apart from the first

